Devices and systems that generate various forms of radiation/ionizing energy are used for various therapeutic/treatment, diagnostic or imaging purposes. For example, various forms of radiation/ionizing energy may be used to inspect an object (such as in airports scanning systems, different security setups, manufacturing and process control) or inspect a patient (such as in a clinic or a hospital, e.g. Cath lab, where a surgeon/therapist operates an X Ray or CT system.)
The medical imaging industry for example is heavily focused on reducing the radiation dose in diagnostic and treatment procedure that include hardware and software modification and operator room procedures. See Miller D L, Balter S, Schueler B A, Wagner L K, Strauss K J, Vano E. “Clinical radiation management for fluoroscopically guided interventional procedures”, Radiology. November 2010; 257(2):321-332. The reporting of radiation dose is one of the QA measurements that are required by Medicare. Furthermore, the Food and Drug Administration in their 2010 “White paper” called for significant reduction of the “unnecessary radiation”. FDA, “White Paper: Initiative to Reduce Unnecessary Radiation Exposure from Medical Imaging.” In: Administration CfDaRHUSFaD, ed. 2010.
There are two main components that can reduce radiation exposure. The first component is the technical improvements of the x-ray equipment, such as investment in better filtering, collimators, acquisition equipment and image analysis. The other component is the way the operator uses the radiation, which includes the length of exposure, distance from the source to the patient and proper collimation. See Miller D L, Balter S, Schueler B A, Wagner L K, Strauss K J, Vano E. “Clinical radiation management for fluoroscopically guided interventional procedures”, Radiology. November 2010; 257(2):321-332 and Arthur W R, Dhawan J, Norell M S, Hunter A J, Clark A L, “Does cardiologist- or radiographer-operated fluoroscopy and image acquisition influence optimization of patient radiation exposure during routine coronary angiography?”, Br J Radiol. September 2002; 75(897):748-753. The radiation education of the operator/physician is critical to reduce the radiation dose and trained physician utilize significantly lower amounts of radiation. A similar focus to reduce radiation exposure exists in the non-medical areas. For example, the nuclear industry has been very sensitive for several decades to radiation exposure and in many other manufacturing fields there are strict guidelines for minimizing exposure. See Http://www.state.il.us/iema/publications/pdf/IEMA%20032%20Everyday%20Uses%20of%20Radiation.pdf.
For example, during a fluoroscopy guided, interventional medical procedure, there are periods of time when the operator (usually a physician), even when he/she activates the radiation source which radiates the patient and the staff does not receive the information that is generated by a radiation source. This radiation (and the information in it) are not only wasted but are furthermore needlessly damaging to the patient and the staff/operator of the radiation source. This may be referred to as “Unattended Radiation” (UR) which is undesirable. Thus, in the various different applications in which objects or patients are being inspected, it is desirable to reduce the Unattended Radiation and therefore minimize the exposure to the potentially harmful radiation by the operator and/or patient and it is to this end that the disclosure is directed.